Philosophy 492

Naomi KlockmannSan Diego Christian College

Ethics vs. Morals

Ethics The theory of

right conduct Right vs. Wrong

Morals Applied ethics How well a person

lives out their ethics

Timmons’Ethical Theories Egoism Divine Command Utilitarianism Kantian Ethical Theory Relativism Natural Law Ethics of Care Pluralism

Egoism

“Ethical egoism makes the rightness or wrongness of actions depend on facts about one’s self-interest.” David W. Shoemaker

This theory means… You are the center of your universe Everything comes from your point of view What is good for me is good and what is bad for me is bad Doing good things in order to get something out of it

Egoism God is the Ultimate Egoist

Colossians 1:15“He is the image of the invisible God, the

firstborn over all creation”

God created the world for his own pleasure and glory

Divine Command Theory Gods commands are good and his

prohibitions are evil

Can apply to Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Question: Are things right because God commands it or does God command it because it is right?

Divine Command Theory To believe in the Divine Command

Theory one must…

Believe that God exists

Believe that God is all good and perfect

Believe that God makes his will known to

people

Divine Command Theory Pros

If there is a Creator/God who better to tell you the right way to live?

God has the power to enforce His commands God knows all the mitigating circumstances God knows our actions and intentions God has made his rules and expectations

clear Heaven awaits those who obey Hell for those who disobey

Divine Command Theory Cons

Belief in God is a huge presupposition If there is a god which one is the right one? How do we know the scriptures were not just

written by men? How do you know you are interpreting Gods

will correctly? How can you hope to live up to Gods perfect

standard? What if God asked you to do something

against your own “core moral beliefs?” How can you distinguish the will of God from

your own desires?

Divine Command Theory

Conclusion

The Divine Command Theory leads to legalism

This theory leaves out the most important part of Christianity, grace and mercy

No one can perfectly keep the will of God

Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham (1748-

1832)

Father of Modern Utilitarianism

“Only pleasure should or can have value”

Equates good with pleasure and evil with pain

Bentham’s auto-icon & mummified head

Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

Higher and Lower pleasures

We must give “pleasures of the intellect, of the feeling and imagination, and of the moral sentiments a much higher value as pleasures than those of mere sensation”

The greatest good for the greatest number

Never choose something that decreases satisfaction of others

Distribution vs Quantity of Utility

Utilitarianism Rule

Utilitarianism Grades in this

society do not reflect marret. The rule itself does not produce the greatest good for the greatest number.

Act Utilitarianism Judges the morality

of an action by whether the action itself produces the most utility, or at least as much utility as any other action.

Utilitarianism Duties to self: A

persons choices must be governed by those actions or rules that lead to the greatest total utility.

Duties to others: Promote the general welfare.

Utilitarianism Conclusion Rule Utilitarianism is circular reasoning

Problems with theory How do we know if we are pleasing

everyone? What is pleasurable today may not be

tomorrow Loss of individual human rights

Kantian Ethical Theory Immanuel Kant (17424-1804)

German Scholar

Believes ethics and morals can be found within reason

Famous Works

Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals (1785)

Critique of Practical Reason (1788)

The Metaphysics of Morals (1797)

Kantian Ethical Theory The only thing good in and of its self is “Good

Will”

Good Will is ‘Pure and practical reason’

“To will your maximum be made a universal law” Meaning: “Would I will to all people, in all places to

do what I am about to do”

Always treat people as an end unto themselves and never as merely a means

Kantian Ethical Theory Kant was looking for a universal theory that would apply to all people at all times

Pros Universality A true ethic (he

distinguishes right action and the motive behind it)

Cons People do not

reason the same way

People are not generally reasonable

Reason is fallible Ivory Tower concept

Relativism Ethical Relativism: How a person

aught to behave

Cultural Relativism: Different people act differently in different situations

Moral Relativism: There are no more absolutes

Ethical Relativism A product of cultural anthropology

There is diversity in cultures (I.E religions, politics, marriage ceremonies…)

Some ideas may be the same but what they produce is different

“When in Rome do as the Romans”

Ethical Relativism Very determinant Brings uniformity

to cultures Toleration

No universal or moral absolutes

Can not evaluate social behaviors

Makes international laws or standards impossible

Natural Law Thomas Aquinas (1225-

1274)

Divine Command Theory + Human Reason = Natural Law

Not only through faith but also through reason can we understand things

Natural Law Rights:

The right of self preservation The right to procreate The right to educate The right to socialize

Natural Law Double Effect

If in order to do good an unintended evil is also accomplished one may proceed if it is a serious situation

Forfeiture If you take away another persons right

they have the right to take away an equal right of yours (an eye for an eye)

Natural Law Pros

Concise, it always tells you what to do in a situation

Applies to all people Reasonable If there is a God justice

will be assured Double effect allows us

to negotiate through ethical conflicts when our rights are in conflict

Cons Very legalistic No second chances No accidents allowed No grace, mercy, or

forgiveness Conclusions violate out

ideas of right and wrong (new technology etc.)

Reason based theory- it can be rationalized

Ethics of Care Carol Gilligan (Born

1936)

All theories have been created by men and men and women value different things

Sex is genetic Gender is learned

Ethics of Care Your culture tells you what it is to be

manly and what it is to be feminine

IF all our ethical theories to date are based on masculine traits doesn’t that make the theories weaker?

Values that are added: mercy, forgiveness, care, emotion etc…

Pluralism (Existential Ethics) Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

Changed the question from ‘What is a Christian?’ to ‘How can I be a Christian?’

You can not judge things in categories

You only truly know what you have experienced

Individualism

Pluralism Truth is subjectivity

You don’t know what is absolute because you see things through your own eyes

Angst A fear that you know not what Only Christ can help your fear

Authenticity Are you being transparent

Freedom Responsibility There are no victims (you always choose how you will

act in a situation)

Pluralism There is no epistemological place you

can go to be separate from yourself

God not only knows what it is like to be human but he specifically knows what it is like to me or you

The End!